Author Archives: Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

About Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Shay Seaborne CPTSD teaches Relational Neuroscience for stress reduction, trauma recovery, and community building. Shay has studied the neurobiology of fear / trauma /PTSD since 2014 and Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) since 2019. They write, speak, teach, and make art to convey their experiences as well as their understanding of the neurobiology of fear, trauma theory, Interpersonal Neurobiology concepts, and principles of trauma recovery. A native of Northern Virginia, Shay settled in Delaware to sail KALMAR NYCKEL, the state’s tall ship. But once they finally had mental health insurance, their life rapidly changed. The standard treatment for PTSD nearly killed them. The psychiatric abuse began a cascade of negative medical encounters that repeatedly caused additional harm and the development of severe Medical PTSD. Shay wishes everyone could recognize that "mental health problems" are symptoms of dysregulation, our mainstream culture is neuro-negative, and we can heal ourselves and each other through awareness, understanding, and safe connection.

Listening to My Nervous System is Not Optional

Trauma recovery is not a belief system, moral stance, prescription, or a choice based on what feels convenient, politically aligned, or socially condoned. Recovery is about learning, often the hard way, what my nervous system actually needs in order to … Continue reading →

Posted in Neurobiology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beyond the Mental Illness Industry: Healing Trauma with NARM and Interpersonal Neurobiology

After the psychiatric abuse of a “standard treatment” nearly killed me 8 years ago, I found the tools that made survival possible. This was at the intersection of the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) and Interpersonal Neurobiology. Unlike the mental illness … Continue reading →

Posted in Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When Speaking the Truth Changes the Dynamic: Reclaiming Agency After Harm 

For a few years I felt helpless about something awful that had happened to me. An abuser had sexually assaulted me, and for a long time it felt like the story ended there: harm done, no meaningful response from any … Continue reading →

Posted in Abuse | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Signs of Recovery, an IPNB Perspective

The mainstream mental illness industry offers a symptom–management and pathology-reduction framework that reflects the incomplete biomedical model of mental health. That narrow framework treats progress as a set of isolated symptom-based milestones, focusing on controlling or managing parts of experience … Continue reading →

Posted in Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Her Lips Were Moving But Her Advice Was Myopic

I met a woman in her eighties who talked at length about how healthy, fit, and good-looking she and her husband are. She described regular exercise, summers at the beach, her husband’s consistent swimming, and a long marriage in which … Continue reading →

Posted in Relationships, Well-being | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beyond Credentials: The Non-Negotiable Key to My Recovery

I had a years-long period when my functionality was so low that it was hard for me to leave the house. I was severely isolated by disability from repeated medical harm. My relationships with practitioners became my default primary social … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare, Relationships | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Always in the Direction of Life: Eight Years of Medical Harm and My One Prospect for a Future 

I have been fighting for my life daily for 8 years. Before that, there was already a lifetime of abuse from people in positions of power, most often from caregivers. The medical and psychiatric abuse of the last eight years … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Empathy is Crucial in Medicine, But the Healthcare System Undermines It

Prioritizing efficiency and financial goals over empathetic care has detrimental effects on both patients and healthcare practitioners.  Empathy Improves Patient Outcomes Enhanced Communication: Empathetic healthcare practitioners build better communication with patients, leading to more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatments. … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why One Safe Connection Affects Everything

In the past few months, I have enjoyed a noticeably improved quality of life. I don’t have to spend so much focus desperately trying to build connections. I have more energy for other things, like working in the garden and … Continue reading →

Posted in PTSD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Cost of Unmet Needs: Trauma Imposed Across a Lifetime

The worst part of my story is not the harm done to me at the hands of caregivers throughout my life, or the institutional betrayal when organizations protect the abuser. It is how many other people have similar experiences. Every … Continue reading →

Posted in PTSD | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment